Kiké Hernandez provided the first run on the second pitch of last night’s game. You could have turned off the TV at that point and called it a day. “Ah, the Dodgers beat the stupid Cubs.” You would say, “The world, it is right.” Instead, you suffered this game with Tio Piazza Parlor.”Mijo, go grab Tio a beer. It kills the pain of watching this team.”

The common complaint against the team has been the pitching. The Dodgers proved in this series that the pitching has kept the team in games. In fact, it is the pitching that keeps them alive in most games. Mike Bolsinger held the Cubs to two hits and struck out six batters over five innings of work. His command was off early on. Bolsinger hit two batters and gave up two walks. Though he only gave up one home run, it was a two-run jack that sealed the Dodgers fate. They were unable to tack another run on the board.

Pitching Keeping The Boys Alive

According to Fangraphs Leaderboards, the Dodgers rotation boasts the second best WAR in the National League. The starters also rank at least in the top four in ERA, FIP, and xFIP.

Team (ranked by xFIP)

ERA

FIP

xFIP

Dodgers

3.41

3.29

3.41

Mets

3.29

3.10

3.46

Phillies

3.88

3.67

3.49

Nationals

3.08

3.54

3.54

Cubs

2.42

3.10

3.54

Sadly, the offense is lagging behind. Through the first few days of June, the Dodgers rank in the bottom five in wRC+. Here are the rankings according to Fangraphs.

Team (ranked by wRC+)

AVG

OBP

SLG

wOBA

wRC+

Pirates

.288

.362

.445

.349

121

Cardinals

.274

.349

.471

.351

121

Cubs

.265

.366

.439

.350

118

Giants

.268

.344

.415

.328

111

Marlins

.283

.342

.431

.333

107

Diamondbacks

.271

.336

.452

.338

106

Rockies

.285

.342

.483

.353

103

Mets

.237

.314

.420

.318

102

Nationals

.248

.327

.426

.323

100

Brewers

.251

.337

.411

.326

99

Dodgers

.245

.320

.387

.309

95

Reds

.241

.296

.415

.305

86

Padres

.232

.291

.378

.289

82

Phillies

.237

.293

.370

.287

76

Braves

.236

.304

.325

.278

71

Yikes! Being in the same company as the Reds, Padres, Phillies, and Braves is like sitting in the back of the class with the kids that eat paste.

If there is any silver lining to today’s loss, the Giants also lost. The Dodgers remain a game above .500 and still sit 4.5 games out of first place.

Tomorrow’s notes

Julio Urias will make his second start of the season. This gives Kenta Maeda an additional rest day. Urias’s first start was against the Mets. In that game, the young phenom pitched 2.2 innings but gave up three runs before being pulled. He will face an equally tough Cubs team tomorrow and will need all the run support he can get.